When the soldiers of the Wehrmacht saw the SS officer aiming his gun at his superior, they all raised their guns and aimed at him. The five soldiers who retreated into the church with the SS officer also quickly gathered around the officer.
, raised his gun and confronted the soldiers of the National Defense Force.
Seeing that the two sides were at war with each other and that there might be a fight at any time, Vadim couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He quickly approached Mikhailev's ear and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Captain, what should we do? What if they really fight?"
Get up, I'm afraid our lives are in danger."
Although Mikhailev was also very nervous, he knew that the soldiers present were in a state of high tension. If there was any movement at all, there might be a big fight, and then the two of him would be in trouble. He quickly reminded Vady
Tom: "Comrade Sergeant, stay calm and let's see how Captain Grams handles this matter."
The SS officer saw at least thirty guns pointing at him, and there were only six people on his side. Once both sides opened fire, he and his subordinates would be shot into pieces. In order to prevent this
When this situation arises, he can only bite the bullet and say: "Captain Grams, I want to remind you that German officers never surrender. I hope you will not do anything that damages the honor of the military."
Captain Grams looked at the SS officer who pointed the gun at him and said coldly: "Mr. Captain of the Second Commando Squadron, there is no point in continuing to fight. In order to save more people's lives, we can only
If you can lay down your weapons and surrender, I will give you one minute to put down your weapons, otherwise I will order my subordinates to shoot at you."
"Surrender?!" the SS officer sneered: "Do you think the Russians will accept your surrender?"
For some reason, Grams suddenly showed a hesitant expression on his face after hearing the officer's words. He stood there in a daze, seeming to be thinking about something.
During the conversation between the two, Vadim quietly translated the conversation to Mikhailev. Seeing Grams' undecided look, Mikhailev thought that the other party was worried that his personal safety would not be guaranteed after surrender.
He quickly said: "Mr. Captain, I promise you that as long as you and your men stop resisting, lay down their weapons and surrender to us, we will definitely ensure the safety of all of you."
Before Grams could speak, an SS officer suddenly shouted from the side: "What use is your guarantee? If your superiors knew that he once led people to set fires in the north of the city, could you bypass them?"
When Vadim heard what the officer said, he couldn't help but change his expression. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should translate the matter to Mikhailev. Mikhailev heard the officer babbled a lot of words, but he didn't know a single word.
He didn't understand, but Vadim didn't translate for him, so he couldn't help but feel a little anxious: "Comrade Sergeant, what's going on? Why don't you translate for me?"
"Comrade Captain," Vadim hesitated for a moment and decided to translate what the officer said to Mikhailev to see what decision he would make. "The SS officer warned Captain Grams that he had
If you lead people to set fire to the north of the city, even if you surrender, there will be no good end!"
When he learned that Captain Grams, who was standing in front of him, had led people to set fire to the north of the city, Mikhailev's face paled, and even the veins on his temples were exposed. He gritted his molars and asked Vadim
: "Comrade Sergeant, is everything you said true?"
Vadim saw Mikhailev's veins popping out and clenched his fists tightly with both hands. Knowing that the other party was on the verge of going berserk, he still bravely replied: "Yes, Comrade Captain!"
Mikhailev stared at the helpless Grams in front of him, shaking with anger. He knew that in the fire, at least seven to eight hundred soldiers of the 762nd Regiment were swallowed up by the sea of fire. Now their murderer is
Standing a few steps away from him, he could grab the other person's neck and strangle him to death with just one quick stride, avenging his comrades and residents who died.
Vadim saw something strange about Mikhailev. He was deeply afraid that the other party would rush directly towards Grams. Once he did, the dozens of German soldiers around him could easily take down the two of them even without using weapons.
"Captain Grams," but what Vadim was worried about did not happen. Mikhailev took two deep breaths and said to Grams: "If you continue to resist, wait until the church is captured.
, I'm afraid no one will survive. As long as you lay down your weapons and surrender, I can't guarantee whether your life can be saved. But your subordinates can survive. I just don't know if you are willing to sacrifice your life.
In exchange for the opportunity for your men to return home after the war?"
Mikhailev gave Grams two choices: one is to fight to the end and die in the end; the other is to save more lives at the expense of him.
After listening to Vadim's translation, the German officers and soldiers present couldn't help but make their own calculations. Although dying in battle is a soldier's responsibility, now that there is a chance to survive, who wouldn't want to seize it?
Many soldiers lowered their guns and looked at Grams eagerly, waiting for him to make the final decision.
Although there were dozens of people standing in the hall, it seemed extremely quiet. Apart from the sound of gunfire coming from outside the church, the only sound of people's breathing could be heard.
"Everyone, I have made a decision." After an unknown amount of time, Grams finally said: "In order to save more people who are still alive, I have decided to lay down my arms and surrender to the Russians."
As soon as Grams' words came out, his subordinates cheered, which meant that everyone could continue to survive. But the SS officer was so angry that he shouted: "You damn traitor, go away."
Die." He said, ready to pull the trigger.
"Bang!" A crisp gunshot made the noisy hall quiet. Grams was still standing where he was, but the SS officer who aimed the gun at him fell over with blood on his face.
on the ground.
Just when Mikhailev was wondering who fired the shot, he saw the German second lieutenant who took him and Vadim into the church walking out of the crowd, holding a pistol with a faint smoke in his hand. He came
When he arrived in front of Grams, he ordered the soldiers around him: "Disarm them."
Following the second lieutenant's order, seven or eight soldiers came out of the crowd and came to the five SS soldiers. They confiscated the weapons in their hands without any explanation, and then asked Grams: "Mr. Captain, what should we do with these SS soldiers?"
Guards."
Grams glanced at the SS officer lying on the ground, raised his head and said to the second lieutenant: "Put them aside first and keep them under guard. What we have to do now is to surrender to the Russians immediately, otherwise it will be too late."
.”
The second lieutenant nodded, then came to Mikhailev and said sincerely: "Mr. Captain, I have a request: I wonder if our captain can be spared? Yes, our company did participate in the arson in the north of the city.
But we are also acting under orders, and we hope you can understand us."
Mikhailev saw everything that just happened, and he knew very well that if Grams was a man who was greedy for life and afraid of death, he would definitely not agree to surrender, because once he laid down his weapon, he might be accused of participating in the
He set fire to the north of the city and was shot on the spot; but if he chose to continue to resist, although he would not escape death in the end, it would cause huge casualties to the Soviet army.
After thinking about this, Mikhailev said to the German second lieutenant: "Mr. Second Lieutenant, I have already said that I cannot guarantee that Captain Grams will survive, but I am willing to intercede for him and see how my superiors plan to deal with him.
"
Knowing that Mikhailev was willing to intercede for Grams, the second lieutenant quickly raised his hand and saluted him to express his gratitude.
When Sokov received a call from Colonel Shechtman and learned that the church had been successfully occupied, he couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Colonel, are the cultural relics we are looking for stored in the basement of the church?"
"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Shechtman replied: "I am in the church now. I just checked the cultural relics from the basement. According to the list, there are more than 170 world-famous paintings and ten
Two large wooden boxes.”
After confirming that the cultural relics were in the basement of the church, Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed and ordered Samyko to immediately report the good news to Konev. In order to see these precious cultural relics as soon as possible, he ignored the sound of gunfire in the city.
Before stopping, Lunev was called, and with Samoilov's guard platoon, they entered the city in a car.
After the convoy entered the city from the north gate, Sokov saw the scene of the fire. The buildings on both sides of the road were burned into frames. The bodies of soldiers and residents who had not been collected in time were scattered on the ground. He saw
At this scene, Runev gritted his teeth and said: "Damn Germans, they owe another blood debt. Comrade Commander, if I catch the enemies who set the fire, I have decided to shoot them all."
"That's right." Sokov had no objection to Lunev's statement: "These arsonists cannot be called people at all, they can only be called two-legged beasts. We caught such beasts
We will kill as many as we can and we will never tolerate it.”
When the motorcade arrived at the door of the church, Shechtman and Billing were already waiting at the door with people.
Seeing the jeep stop, Shechtman quickly stepped forward, opened the door for Sokov, and said respectfully: "Comrade Commander, you are welcome to come and see our trophies."
Sokov shook hands with the other party and asked anxiously: "Where are the things?"
"It's in the church," Shechtman replied: "The light in the basement was too dark. I was worried that using torches would damage the cultural relics, so I ordered the soldiers to move them to the church hall."
